Why Some Scientists
Cheat
By Dr. Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD
As
the year 2005 was drawing to a close, the scientific
world was stunned by the announcement that the
renowned South Korean scientist, Dr. Hwang Woo-suk,
who had become an international star for his dazzling
scientific achievements, was fired from his job
at the Seoul National University for falsifying
the results of his research. He was accused of
publishing fraudulent findings in one of the world’s
most prestigious scientific journals, Science,
claiming that he had succeeded in cloning human
embryonic stem cells for the first time.
Before the scandal broke, Dr. Hwang had presented
his research findings at various international
scientific meetings within the past two years
in the presence of world’s most luminous
minds. His was credited by others with achieving
a major advancement in science that raised hopes
that at long last a cure for a number of disabling
human diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, stroke,
and diabetes, could be found. Why would Dr. Hwang’s
purported findings represent such a remarkable
achievement in biomedical science? Stem cells,
the focus of his research, are derived from early
embryos, formed naturally after fertilization
of the egg by sperm, prior to implantation in
the uterus. These cells are unique since, as opposed
to other cells, they can divide indefinitely,
and, much like potters clay, can be molded into
any cell type of the body-- kidney, heart or bone
etc. Normally, mature cells are already committed,
so that the kidney cells can only give rise to
kidney cells, liver cells generate only liver
cells. This distinctive and remarkable ability
of embryonic stem cells makes them highly valuable
tools in the fight against diseases caused by
the failure of vital human organs. Scientists
have dreamt that embryonic stem cell could one
day be used to generate new replacement organs
to treat patients with diseased organs, such as
failing hearts, pancreas that no longer produce
insulin and dead brain cells causing neurological
dysfunction.
The crucial question is how can we ensure a steady
and reliable supply of stem cells? These days,
these cells are extracted from surplus embryos
that are generated by in vitro fertilization procedures
in fertility clinics designed to help couples
who cannot conceive a child naturally. In such
cases, mother’s eggs are fertilized by father’s
sperm in the laboratory and subsequently one of
the resulting embryos is implanted in the mother’s
uterus. Often doctors produce excess embryos in
case they need more than one if the first implant
is not successful. All surplus embryos are later
discarded or in some cases donated by the couples
to scientists for stem cell research. Many, many
people, including President Bush, are vehemently
opposed on religious grounds to the use of human
employs for research, and government funding in
American is banned for such research. Clearly,
fertility clinics represent an unreliable source
of stem cells. Many of these problems would be
overcome, however, if embryonic stem cells could
be produced in the laboratory by modern cloning
procedures. By these means, the scientists could
harvest an unlimited supply of these cells for
their experimentation. There would be another
obstacle that would limit the use of the stem
cells--immunological incompatibility. When the
heart, liver or kidneys fail to function, they
can only be replaced at present by costly and
cumbersome transplantation procedures, using donated
organs. Such organs when available and transplanted
surgically are often rejected by the body which
views them as foreign tissues.
Dr. Hwang became a national hero in South Korea
and an international celebrity in biomedical science,
because his research seemed to have solved both
the problems plaguing the large-scale therapeutic
use of stem cell. He claimed that his laboratory
could readily clone human stem cells, paving the
way for ensuring a steady supply, and, even more
crucial, that he had solved the problem of tissue
rejection. He stated that he had removed the genetic
material, DNA, of the human female egg, replacing
it with DNA taken from the cell of another person.
The stem cells extracted from the resulting embryo
could then be grown in the laboratory into organs
and transplanted in the patient who provided the
cell. He argued that since the cells originally
came from the patient’s own body, they will
not be perceived as foreign by it and there would
be no rejection. The research as presented was
simple, elegant and beautiful, but, alas, it was
fraudulent. While Dr. Hwang claimed that he had
successfully cloned his stem cells, in reality
they had been obtained by the infusion of an egg
and a sperm, the same time-honored technique for
obtaining stem cells employed previously. The
revelation of a deception of this magnitude was
unprecedented and generated a shock wave in the
academic world. Also, the claim that he had generated
eleven cell lines, a remarkable achievement, was
false. There were only two.
It is not the first time a scientist has published
fraudulent data nor is scientific misconduct the
exclusive domain of Third World scientists. The
now discredited work published by Dr. Hwang bore
the name of a well-recognized American scientist,
Dr. Jerald Schatten, a professor at the University
of Pittsburg. It turned out that Dr. Schatten
did not have much knowledge of what was going
on in the South Korean laboratories, but he was
happy to lend his name to the landmark publication
as long as it brought him fame and prestige. He
promptly dissociated himself, however, when it
became clear that the research was based on deceptive
data and the fraud started to unravel. He was
strongly censured by the University of Pittsburg
and probably will never recover his reputation
as an outstanding scientist.
Although incidence of misconduct among scientists
is still rare, during the past two decades a number
of such cases have been exposed in the United
States. The unanswered questions are why highly
intelligent and gifted scientists indulge in misconduct.
In the medieval times, science was pursued by
individuals largely as one of a number of other
scholarly pastimes and for a number of reasons,
not the least of which was the innate inquisitiveness
of the scientist. The Muslim scientist, Mohammad
Zakariya Al-Razi (864-930 AD), was a physician,
alchemist and a philosopher all at the same time.
The great Italian scientist, Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519 AD), was an engineer, physiologist,
and above all a painter.
In Western countries today, science has morphed
into a highly specialized, competitive, billion-dollar
enterprise. The race to be first in research is
fierce and the temptation for falsifying results
to derive some advantage over other scientists
is powerful. In many universities, the professors
are under intense pressure to generate funds from
outside sources to pay for their salaries and
research expenses. This is especially true of
young professors who are still struggling to establish
themselves and secure tenured jobs in academia.
Also, in the developing countries, such as South
Korea, scientific achievements get muddled up
with patriotism and nationalism, a question of
prestige and honor for the country. And scientists,
their high position in the intellectual hierarchy
notwithstanding, are prone to the same failings
as other human beings.
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